Polestar just made EV history. The Swedish automaker’s Polestar 3 SUV set a new record for the longest distance driven on a single charge by a production electric vehicle. This was achieved without any custom modifications. While the achievement is impressive, it enters a competitive field where automakers constantly push EV range boundaries.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
Polestar’s achievement comes from a team of drivers — Booker, Clarke, and Parker. They took a standard Polestar 3, on factory tires, and drove it to its maximum range without recharging. The run clocked in at a remarkable distance. It now sits in the record books for production EVs.
Unlike other record attempts, this Polestar remained fully stock. This makes the feat more relatable to real-world owners. It also reinforces the brand’s push for efficiency and range, which is crucial in the growing EV market. Consumer range anxiety remains a barrier to adoption.
However, context matters. Other automakers have recently set their own “longest single-charge” records, though under different conditions. Chevrolet, for example, drove its Silverado WT electric truck an astonishing 1,059 miles (1,704 km) on a single charge. But this involved a massive 205 kWh battery, worn-down overinflated tires, and a rotating team of 40 drivers. They kept speeds low and the AC off until the final 59 miles.
Lucid also claimed a title in July. They took its Air Grand Touring from St. Moritz, Switzerland, to Munich, Germany — a distance of 749 miles (1,205 km). While this beat the Polestar’s mileage, it benefited from a mostly downhill route. It achieved an impressive efficiency of over 6 miles/kWh.
The Polestar 3’s run remains notable because it mirrors real-world conditions more closely. There were no stripped-down interiors, no experimental tires, and no extreme driving tricks. It was just a production EV proving it can deliver serious range.
Industry experts see this as a growing trend. Automakers are showcasing maximum range to win over skeptical buyers. “These records are great marketing tools, but they also push engineers to squeeze every bit of efficiency out of EV platforms,” notes an EV analyst from EV Volumes.
TF Summary: What’s Next
Polestar’s record is less about claiming an untouchable title. It’s more about proving that standard EVs can go the distance without gimmicks. As battery technology advances and charging infrastructure expands, TF expects more producers to endeavor past the 500-mile threshold. Conditions that users experience under everyday driving scenarios.
For now, the Polestar 3’s stock configuration achievement gives it a real-world bragging right. The record may sway buyers looking for a long-range electric SUV without compromises.
— Text-to-Speech (TTS) provided by gspeech